The celiac disease most often begins in young children, shortly after the introduction of gluten into the diet. The patient then generally presents with digestive disorders such as chronic diarrhea or bloat. But gluten intolerance can occur later, in adolescence or adulthood. In this case, its form is frequently more atypical: the individual has less intense digestive symptoms, and may develop extra-digestive symptoms. So, in case of doubt, it is better to consult before stopping gluten. Otherwise, a clear diagnosis could not be made.
Step 1: spot and avoid gluten
Once the sentence of gluten intolerance has fallen, foods containing gluten should be eliminated from the diet. “We must distinguish between celiacs, who must avoid all contact with gluten, and sensitive people, who can consume traces of gluten and who still have a fairly wide choice”, recalls Alma Rota, author of Living gluten free for dummies.
The main suppliers of gluten are cereals: wheat, kamut, spelled, barley, rye, and possibly oats if it is not guaranteed gluten-free. “Oat prolamins can be tolerated by the majority of celiac patients. But the oat sector is not always separated from that of others, especially in France, and oats can be contaminated”, warns Corinne Bouteloup, doctor gastroenterologist.
In addition, many foods contain gluten in a totally counter-intuitive way. Vital gluten can thus be added to charcuterie to give it flexibility. Celiacs will have to get used to reading labels to identify the terms gluten, wheat, wheat, rye, barley, malt, as well as the names of certain texturizing additives used in particular in low-fat products.
Step 2: Learn about gluten alternatives
The “gluten-free” offer is constantly expanding, whether in the form of bread, pasta or cakes. But making gluten-free products that taste and have the desired texture is difficult.
Therefore, many industrial manufacturers add sugars (glucose, starch, etc.), fats, and other additives, in particular to give volume. “And the cheapest gluten-free flours, rice and corn, have a higher glycemic index than wheat, notes Alma Rota. I, who am of Italian culture, started by replacing my usual pasta with pasta gluten-free. I came very close to diabetes in six months.”
No reason to despair, however, because the cereal alternative is well supplied. Oats (certified gluten-free), corn, quinoa, buckwheat, polenta, millet, sorghum and, of course, rice, are allowed. “Cereals with gluten, and especially wheat, represent an important part of the proteins in our diet, and also provide group B vitamins. This is why it is important to know and consume gluten-free cereals to compensate”, specifies Doctor Corinne Bouteloup.
Step 3: fix the bread problem
The bread is culturally very integrated into the French diet. Those who manage to do without… are very lucky and can skip this paragraph. Others may be tempted by commercial “gluten-free” breads. But this option is not necessarily the healthiest on a daily basis, for the reasons explained above.
The best solution may be to make homemade bread. Are often used, in equal parts, at least three flours or starches:
- neutral-tasting flour (usually rice)
- a stronger flour (buckwheat, chestnut, teff, etc. )
- a starch (corn, potato, or a mixture).
The same weight of water as flour is used, to obtain a bread that will rise well. The yeast is dissolved 10 minutes before in the lukewarm liquid, in order to activate it. Adding a spoonful of oil helps bind the dough, and a fluffier, fluffier texture can be achieved with a small amount of guar gum or xanthan gum; or ground flax or chia seeds.
Due to the amount of liquid in it, a dough of this type is very soft. It cannot be kneaded by hand, and is difficult to shape. The easiest way is to use a mold, greased or lined with parchment paper. The bread will only need to rise once before being put in the oven, at around 220°C. A final trick is to unmold the bread halfway through cooking to prevent it from being too moist.
Step 4: if you want pasta
Yes “the pasta” Italian is made of wheat, the Asian continent provides a wide variety of gluten-free pasta.
Some are made with rice flour (for example mi fen vermicelli or jiangxi mi fen noodles in China; and the thicker bun bo huê in Vietnam), Yam (for hongshu fen si vermicelli or large fen tiao noodles in China), mung bean starch (called fen si , bún tàu , or harusame , depending on the country), or even konjac flour such as Japanese shirataki vermicelli.
As to japanese sobathey are most often made in varying proportions of wheat and buckwheat flour, but some are 100% buckwheat.
Among this multitude, Vietnamese banh canh flat noodles can be made relatively easily. They consist of two-thirds rice flour and one-third tapioca starch (a tant pour tant works too). Boiling water is then added to this mixture (count approximately 600 ml for 500 g of dry mixture) in order to obtain a smooth and supple paste which can be spread and then cut into strips. The banh canh are then cooked in boiling water like any fresh pasta.
Read also :
- The perfect gluten-free diet does not exist
- Traces of gluten in probiotics
- Gluten: a new test to diagnose celiac disease
